Sneak Attack
by sunniebelle
Summary: A sneak attack causes the Doctor to come to an important decision.


The only warning the Doctor had of the attack was the soft, quick pitter-patter of bare feet on tile. Suddenly he felt a small, warm body slam into the back of his legs and he was grateful for the support of the kitchen counter in front of him, enabling him to stay upright and not be taken to the floor.

Looking down, he saw a small head topped with strawberry-blond hair and two blue eyes staring wide-eyed back at him.

"Hi, Doctor!" Tony Tyler greeted him excitedly, his face nearly split in two by his wide smile.

Trying to hide his own grin, the Doctor playfully exclaimed, "By the second sun! Who is this alien that's attached himself to me?"

Tony's smile seemed to get impossibly wider as he clung to his leg, the boy's bum seated on the top of his bare foot.

"My goodness, what a morning! Here's me, all set to enjoy a nice morning cuppa and toast with jam, and now I've got a little alien clinging to my leg."

He bit his lip to hide the smile that was trying to poke through at the boy's contagious laughter.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do? I can't even walk properly." To demonstrate, he made exaggerated attempts to move his leg as he walked to the carpeted sitting room, lifting Tony slightly off the floor with each dragging step, his young brother-in-law-to-be's laughter increasing.

"Well, this won't do at all. There must be a way to free my leg you've decided to hold captive—clever little alien, you. Let me think...Oh! I know!"

Without warning he bent over and began to tickle the boy's ribs, no longer able to hold back a smile as Tony shrieked with laughter. A few moments later Tony let go of his leg and started to fall backwards, so the Doctor quickly caught him and lowered him to the floor. He continued his tickle-attack once more and Tony's laughter reached a new volume, making the Doctor laugh with him.

Hearing a throat being cleared behind them, the Doctor and Tony looked to find Rose standing in the entrance to the sitting room with an amused smile on her face.

"What are you two doin' in here?"

The Doctor suddenly picked Tony up and gently tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"This mischievous little alien here ambushed me with a sneak attack this morning, latching onto my leg. I did the only thing I could to free myself...a tickle-attack!" he said, giving Tony's ribs one last tease and chuckling at the boy's breathless laughter.

Shifting Tony to his hip, so he could see his face, he whispered a secret message in his ear then set him on his feet. Tony and the Doctor both gave Rose one long look before both of them started after her—the Doctor running much slower than normal so Tony could keep up.

Seeing their intent, Rose tried to dissuade them, but her smile told them they would win this game. She turned and ran down the hallway, making a break for the bedroom. Moments later Rose was the one shrieking with laughter as her Doctor and her little brother mercilessly tickled her.

After turning the tables on one another a few times, Rose and the Doctor both lay back on the bed, Tony snuggled between them, all three spent but happy and content, small chuckles still escaping occasionally.

When Pete and Jackie had asked them to watch little Tony for a few days, so they could have a child-free anniversary cruise, the Doctor couldn't deny he had been a bit nervous. He knew the boy loved his sister and the Doctor, and he seemed to live for hearing of the Doctor's and Rose's adventures in the TARDIS. However, he was finding that he thoroughly enjoyed the boy's company—and just like his sister, he asked all the right questions; smart-as-a-whip, he was!

After everyone's remaining giggles from their earlier silliness had subsided, Tony begged his sister and the Doctor for one of their adventure stories. Thinking for a long moment, Rose began to tell Tony of the time she and the Doctor fought the Slitheen—an abridged, kid-friendly version, of course.

Lying there beside his fiancé and young brother-in-law-to-be, listening to Rose recount their adventures together, the Doctor felt happy and at peace. He decided then and there that he would be asking to have Tony over quite regularly. And he wouldn't mind one bit if there were a few sneak attacks to his legs or tickle-wars to be waged along the way.

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Part of Tumblr's Writer's Month Writing Challenge for August 2019.

All rights for Doctor Who and it's characters belong to the BBC.

Day 6 prompt: kids


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